Man gassed to death after plumber 'botched boiler job'

Mark Ellis, 41, was found dead on the floor of his South Yorkshire bathroom from carbon monoxide poisoning after gas fitter James Charlton failed to properly connect the flue.

After Mr Ellis' death, investigators found six other homes where Charlton had done faulty and "negligent" work on gas boilers, Sheffield Crown Court was told.

Charlton, 31, who ran his own business, was fully qualified and a member of the former CORGI registration scheme for gas installers.

Prosecutor Nicholas Campbell QC said Charlton failed to secure the flue to the boiler so gas fumes were not conveyed outside of the house.

There was a 4in gap across which some of the fumes had been seeping to escape Mr Ellis's home in Dodworth, Barnsley.

But an unusual freezing fog on February 18, 2008 acted as a barrier to the fumes, preventing them escaping outside.

Instead carbon monoxide leaked upwards from the wall-mounted kitchen boiler, through the ceiling and a hole in the bathroom floor, killing Mr Ellis.

Work colleagues who went to find Mr Ellis could see his cat dead on the kitchen floor and police officers who broke in found the divorcee's body in the bathroom.

Mr Campbell said both the home owner and his cat died from carbon monoxide poisoning and the only source was the gas boiler.

He said the boiler had been installed by the defendant about three months previously after Mr Ellis's mother loaned him 1,300 to buy a new one.

Charlton, who has worked as a plumber since he was 17 years old and ran his own firm – West Riding Plumbing and Heating Service – arrived with an apprentice and fitted the boiler.

After Mr Ellis's death, the boiler was removed and installed in a laboratory where it worked perfectly well.

Mr Campbell said: "The fault that led to Mark Ellis's death was that it was not properly connected to the flue."

In the week before his death Mr Ellis complained of suffering sickness and dizzy spells and once collapsed in the bathroom.

He went to see his GP and was prescribed medication for an ear infection. He took time off work and was due to return on the Monday he was found dead.

Mr Campbell said: "All the symptoms are consistent with the effects of high levels of carbon monoxide in the system."

It appears Mr Ellis had been overcome by fumes while he was standing at the washbasin.

The prosecution says extreme cold weather prevented the carbon monoxide from escaping, leading to a build-up inside the house, and instead of fresh air fumes were also being drawn back in.

"In these conditions carbon monoxide levels were increased very quickly indeed and the flue was rendered ineffective," said Mr Campbell.

When interviewed by police, Charlton said he had been supplied with the wrong flue for the boiler and had to change it.

He denied leaving a gap between the flue and the boiler and said the installation was done properly.

He said someone else must have altered it later.

But one expert who examined his work at the house after his arrest said: "It looked as if he was in too much of a hurry."

Inspections of Charlton's previous work found faults in gas fittings at six other addresses.

Charlton of Hade Edge, near Holmfirth, denies manslaughter by gross negligence and contravening the 1998 Gas Safety Regulations.

The trial continues.